Bojana Novakovic (born 17 November 1981) is an Australian actress and filmmaker. She is known for starring in the police procedural television series Instinct (2018–2019) and the family drama series Love Me (2021–2023), for which she was nominated for several awards. In film, she has appeared in Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2010), Devil (2010), Generation Um... (2012), The Little Death (2014), I, Tonya (2017), and Birds of Prey (2020).
Novakovic wrote, directed, filmed, and co-produced in her first feature film, a documentary set in Serbia, titled The Forbidden Aunt, which has its world premiere on 16 October 2026. Born in Serbia, Novakovic immigrated to Australia as a child.
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Early life and education
Novakovic was born on 17 November 1981 to computer programmers Biljana and Radovan Novakovic in Belgrade, the capital of the SR Serbia of the SFR Yugoslavia. When Novakovic was seven years old, the family immigrated to Australia, settling in Sydney, New South Wales.
In Australia, Biljana became a sculptor, gaining two master's degrees in fine arts. Novakovic studied at The McDonald College, where she was dux in 1998. In 2002, Novakovic graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art.
Career
Stage
Novakovic's theatre credits in Australia include These People, Away and Strange Fruit at the Sydney Theatre Company; The Female of the Species at the Melbourne Theatre Company; Woyzeck (Helpmann award nomination for best supporting actress in 2009), Criminology (Green Room award nomination for best actress 2007), Eldorado (Helpmann nomination for best supporting actress, 2006) and Necessary Targets at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne, Death Variations and Loveplay (Ride On) for B Sharp, Romeo and Juliet with Bell Shakespeare company and Debris for Ride on Theatre (which received a Green Room nomination for best Independent production and best actress in 2006).
For some years Novakovic ran her own independent theatre company, Ride On Theatre (Sydney and Melbourne) with co-director Tanya Goldberg. She was a producer and performer for the 2004 Ride on Theatre sell-out season of LOVEPLAY at the Downstairs Belvoir Street Theatre, and the 2006 Green Room nominated production of Debris (in which she was also nominated for best actress).
In 2008, she translated, adapted, and directed Fake Porno in Melbourne, which was invited to be part of the Powerhouse season in Brisbane in 2009, and also received three Green Room nominations, including best production. Outside of Ride On, she wrote and directed with Melbourne's Black Lung Theatre for the critically acclaimed production of Sugar at the 2007 Adelaide Fringe festival. In 2010, Novakovic received an AFI nomination for International Award for Best Actress for her role in Edge of Darkness. In May 2012, she starred in a Ride On improvised theatrical production called The Blind Date project at the Brisbane Powerhouse which was later also performed in Sydney and Santa Monica, California.
Screen
In 2003, Novakovic played Randa in the ABC mini-series Marking Time, a role which won her an AFI Award for "Best Actress in a Leading Role in a Television Drama or Comedy". As an actress, Novakovic's film credits in Australia include Blackrock (1996), Strange Fits of Passion (1998), The Monkey's Mask (1999), Thunderstruck (2004), Solo (2005) and the Serbian films The Optimists (2005) and Skinning (2010).
From 2007 to 2009, she played Tippi in TV series Satisfaction for Showtime Australia. She also appeared in Drag Me to Hell (2009), Edge of Darkness (2009), Devil (2010), Burning Man (2011), and Generation Um... (2012).
From 2013 to 2014, Novakovic starred on the American remake of comedy-drama television series Rake, which was cancelled after one season. In 2015, she portrayed Clare Hitchens in The Hallow, a horror film set in Ireland and directed by Corin Hardy. She had a recurring role on the fifth season of Shameless in 2014.
In 2025, Novakovic turned her hand to filmmaking, being screenwriter, director, cinematographer, and co-producer on the feature documentary film The Forbidden Aunt (Zabranjena tetka). The story focuses on a real-life aunt of Novakovic, the estranged Aunt Gordana, and reveals abuse, addiction, and generational trauma of women in Serbia. Filmed in Serbia and produced through Sense Productions, the film is supported by the Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund, and is set to screen at the Adelaide Film Festival on 18 October 2026, in its world premiere.
